Trial starts for ex-Donovan aide charged in scheme

An aide to former Connecticut House Speaker Chris Donovan implicated himself in a scheme to illegally funnel donations to his candidate, a federal prosecutor said Monday at the start of the trial of the aide, whose lawyer countered that his client knew nothing of the plot and is being singled out by others hoping to strike a deal with the government.

By DAVE COLLINS

The Bulletin

By DAVE COLLINS

Posted May. 14, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated May 14, 2013 at 2:10 PM

By DAVE COLLINS

Posted May. 14, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated May 14, 2013 at 2:10 PM

New Haven, Conn.

An aide to former Connecticut House Speaker Chris Donovan implicated himself in a scheme to illegally funnel donations to his candidate, a federal prosecutor said Monday at the start of the trial of the aide, whose lawyer countered that his client knew nothing of the plot and is being singled out by others hoping to strike a deal with the government.

The aide on trial, Robert Braddock Jr., managed the money for Donovan's campaign last year for Congress. Braddock and seven co-defendants who pleaded guilty are accused of conspiring to hide the source of nearly $28,000 in campaign contributions, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Mattei told a jury in federal court in New Haven during opening statements in Braddock's trial.

The scheme involved roll-your-own tobacco shop owners who wanted Donovan to kill state legislation that would have raised taxes on them. They gave cash to other people, who then wrote checks to Donovan's campaign, the prosecutor said, an illegal practice known as straw donations. Braddock was secretly recorded in conversations with an FBI informant, Mattei said.

Following campaign finance laws is vital to democracy, Mattei said.

"American citizens have a right ... to know something about candidates for American office," Mattei said. "They have a right to know who's giving them money."

Donovan wasn't charged in the alleged scheme, which purportedly ran from late 2011 into 2012, and has denied wrongdoing. The legislation died after failing to reach a vote last year.

Braddock denies the allegations. His lawyer, Frank Riccio II, told the jury that Braddock didn't know about the straw donors. Riccio also tried to discredit co-defendants set to testify against Braddock, saying they're hoping to receive leniency in exchange for testifying.

"They are speaking out of a motivation to not go to jail," Riccio said. "Mr. Braddock did not know that these donations were straw donations. ... Mr. Braddock made it perfectly clear that there was no quid pro quo."

One of the roll-your-own tobacco shop owners, Paul Rogers, testified Monday that Braddock was in on the scheme. Rogers, who owned two Smoke House Tobacco shops in Waterbury, was charged in the case, pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against Braddock.

The roll-your-own shops allow customers to buy tobacco and paper and put them in a machine that made 190 to 200 cigarettes, equal to about a carton of cigarettes. Without the tax, the cartons are effectively sold at a deep discount. Rogers said he started selling cartons for $34.95 and later charged $39.95 as his business boomed, while a carton of Marlboros sold for more than $70.

He said the state legislation, which would have imposed a $30 manufacturer's tax on roll-your-own shops, would have put shop owners out of business.

Mattei played several excerpts of several conversations secretly recorded by co-defendants who agreed to cooperate with the FBI, including a brief meeting with Donovan at a December 2011 fundraising event.

Page 2 of 2 - Donovan ended up losing the Democratic primary to former state Rep. Elizabeth Esty, who went on to win the seat.

"This is a sad time for me, after spending my political career working to clean up the political process and fix a broken campaign finance system," Donovan said in a statement Monday. "The government charged people who worked for me, which hurts just as much today as when it happened a year ago."